I want to go to Vietnam with my 10yr old son. Any recommendations?

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BBQ & Beer

All the answers Ive read here are great advice. I would like to include my 2 cents. Your 10yr old son seems beyond his age, on his way to becoming a worldly, experienced person.
Visit Hue, the imperial city, the ancient capital, there are over a hundred palaces left standing, over 300 year old temples. It is a very cultural, religious and historic city.
Da Nang is a port city but it does not have a hustl-bustle atmosphere. By train from Hue, the costal view is magnificant. Very nearby is the Marble Mountains. You will find many marble carvers along the mountain path, many shops selling handcarved vases, statues, figures, ...
Hoi An is an ancient town. Pagodas, stone homes, intact and still in their original yellow, torquois paint. The food here, like in Hue and other parts of central Vietnam is full of flavor, almost overwhelming to the foreign tastebud.
Da Lat has many homes built from wood. Proably harvest from the many forest around. It has a tropical feel, there are many waterfalls, lakes and fruits.
Ha Long Bay is a must visit. Have a water tour. The water is colorful blue and ther are many natural grottos with word and art carvings. The mountains are limestone. The boats you take are wooden boats, you will not forget them.
Hanoi is a big city, there is Ho Chi Minh Mauseloum.
Saigon is even a bigger city, i think you can find alot of info about these cities.
Nha Trang, like many other Vietnam cities is a costal town. IMO it is the best city to relax and unwind. There are beaches, parks, fruits, and the ocean breeze that blows down in the evening. The ambience natural sensation here is one i'll never forget. I hope there are still local kids playing soccer on the beach, i wont forget those games i played with them. There is a place I think is called "Monkey Mountain", where monkies roam free.
Im not sure the extent of your holiday, for Vietnam is a great place to backpack if you have enough time. If you do choose to go there, I hope you and your son have a wonderful time.
Oh, heed the advice of others abouth health concerns, take your shots, be careful of the water, mosquitos, upset stomachs ...

rick m

Lots of great advice here. The one thing I would caution you on is that Vietnam does not have a lot of things that 10 year olds find fun. Whenever I run into "western" kids, they tell me they are bored out of their minds.
With that being said, there are two waterparks in Saigon that are a great way to beat the heat and have a lot of fun. I believe the Zoo was already mentioned. There are also a few crocodile and turtle farms in the outskirts.
Just south of the beautiful beaches in Nha Trang is a great diving/snorkleing reef with equipment rental. Vung Tua has great beaches but I don't believe there is anyplace to rent dive gear.
If you venture way down south to Ha Tien, Phu Quoc area you will find great beaches with dive gear, jet ski and boat rentals.
Last but not least in my limited experience is Cat Tien National Park. There are lots of things there that will keep a 10 yo interested. I have never traveled very far north, so I can't give you any advice about that area.
I would advise you to speak to a Vietnamese travel agent about your itinerary. It may be difficult to keep your son entertained over there.
Good Luck!

1111

Vung Tao and Nha Trang are good places to dine out and have fun with your son. The beach in Vung Tao is magnificient. You should pay a visit to the statue on the nearby mountain. Nha Trang is good for sight-seeing, some very beautiful streams and waterfalls there. Be careful of what you order on the street, some might cause you harm. Visit Dam Sen Park if you can, it's located in Sai Gon. This park is a combination of waterpark, zoo, and many other things. The best thing is its entrance price, it's a fraction of Disney's. That's all i can give you, hope it's helpful.

Neighbour

Saigon is the beautiful place for you and son to enjoy. Don't forget to take your son to the zoo, opposite the Independence palace, and Dam Sen, and then Vung Tau beach is the place lots of foreigners visiting. Take care and Enjoy

NievaViena

I'd been to Ho Chi Mihn City October of 2005. If you're looking for beautiful places there to see, only a few. Me and my friends just took videos to document only what we have seen there. But if you wish to discover Vietnam, you'll be surprised to know their deep history (war and culture). Please be sure to visit their Museum where you'll be touched with the hardships of its people during the war. Been to other Asian countries but only in Vietnam that I enjoyed the food and most of all, shopping. Night markets there were the great place to test your bargaining skills. Viets can understand English so no problem with communicating. I'd been a 3-day millionaire in Vietnam 'coz a US$100 there was equivalent to 1.5M Vietnam Dong. Good luck!!

dani ng

u can chose Ho Chi Minh city.This is a great place to sightseeing.

Brian N

Be prepared for that over whelming heat. Also, get some mosquito repelent, lot of damn mosquitos

But the heat, damn, it ruined my first experience, it doesnt sound bad but it is

saigonita

Interesting choice !!
I imagine there is an historic interest behind.
I donÂ´t know how long will you stay, assuming you come to Saigon you can take him to Cu Chi tunnels, network of hidden tunnels used by the Vietnamese army to hide not only people but mini hospitals, kitchens, etc. You can even go down and walk along them.

2 hours away from Saigon you can visit Mui Ne, a cozy beach resort with sand dunes.

I would love to give you more orientation but would help if you explain me further about his interests.
You can write me, I live here. medialuna293@yahoo.com

â™«obmikâ™«

kay. the first two answers were good and you should take their advice. here are some things you should consider, but i cant list them all . im sorry about that.

you should get some books from the library and read about Vietnam, tourist attractions, health concerns, tips, and traveling there, and more stuff like that.

search online and find info, im sure theres a lot

make sure ur very careful in Vietnam, especially if you have never been there, or if you are not experienced

there's this place that i have never been to but i have heard about, it's called Suoi Tien Theme Park. i think that this is it's website http://www.vietnamhost.com/suoitien_park/main.html

Vietnam is beautiful and marvelous make sure you know about it a lot before going

there are some malls in Ho Chi Minh City, um i think one is called Diamond , and another, Tax, and sorry i forgot the others

there are tour companies,and you can book some tours in Vietnam i think there are tour companies like Saigon Tourist and more.

be careful

sorry i dont know much about North Vietnam tourism.

Ho Chi Minh city has a zoo

bring sunscreen and from my experiences, mosquito repellent cream in Vietnam works better than the mosquito creams in the U.S. but maybe you should bring some from the U.S. too, just in case.

make sure you've got the health things done , like vaccines, and cleanliness and much more

make sure you are prepared for the weather there, depending on the season that you will be traveling in.

make sure you have all the medicines, and creams that you might need. like allergy creams, perscriptions that you might need, and so on.

sorry if somethings wrong, or mispelled, or inaccurate, or if i missed some important things.

hope this helped

Linh Tuong

hey, 1111 Vung Tau not Vung Tao :)

Nichole

Check with the CDC (online) and see what shots you need and what you should take with you. Like an antibiotic (cipro). It also gives out information about things you should watch for.

Onin

I'm going there next week and I have been told that the most important thing is bring your own bottle water or buy water over there in plastic bottle from supermarkets. This would also include when brushing your teeth use this water as well. When showering keep your mouth closed. This is the only advice I can give. Eat cooked food and limit the seafood intake.

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